VOICE OVER: The Battle Rages on The Voice Stage!

The second night of the battle rounds on The Voice was just as intense as ever, though the talent did not seem quite as overpoweringly awesome as last night, but the singers definitely brought everything they had to this competition today.

The first pair to battle was Team CeeLo’s soulful Cody Belew vs. Domo the hip hop dancer. With instruction from both CeeLo Green and Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas, they sang Lady Gaga’s “Telephone.” Domo, extremely confident about her ability to both sing and dance, compared the strength of her voice to Mariah Carrey. But during the rehearsal, she seemed to be focusing more on her choreography ideas than the song itself.  Cody was excited about singing with Domo because he wanted to finally embrace his inner dancer. Cody said, “Rob gave me some pretty good help on this song… Domo has all she needs to make this song successful, but I’m going to bring it.” Rob said of this guy, “All Cody has to do is surprise people.” CeeLo merely described this song as, “A battle between the singer who can dance and the dancer who can sing,” saying that winner would be whoever could prove to do both. Prior to the performance, Cody voiced what every contestant feels throughout show, “This really is life or death for a singer like me.” Unfortunately, this arrangement seemed like a very odd song choice because it did not let either singer really show off their full potential very well. Both singers pitch issues multiple times, which seemed mostly due to the fact that they were thinking about the dancing. After the performance, their coach had these same ideas, “You were a little too concentrated on the choreography… Neither of you seemed to really fight for it vocally. So now it comes down to personal preference. I’m gonna go with Cody.” Sadly for Domo, none of the judges wanted to steal her, bringing her journey to an end.

With the help of coach Christina Aguilera and Billie Joe Armstrong, Aquile faced Natalie Hernandez when they sang, James Morrison's “You Give Me Something." Christina said, “You come from two different worlds in terms of music styles… It’s up to you as an artist to make it work.” In rehearsals, the Green Day singer told Aquile, “You killed it. I think it was better than the original.” Christina told sweet, timid, 15-year-old Natalie to be fearless. On stage, they both brought everything they had beyond the shadow of a doubt. Aquile seemed really comfortable and confident, delivering a strong, soulful performance. Natalie did not carry such a self-assured air like her opponent at first, but as it went on, she got more relaxed on the stage and started to have fun with it. The coaches heaped on the praise for this pair. CeeLo said, “I loved it. Natalie, I think there’s something precious about you. Aquile, your voice is so commanding, I think you did a perfect performance all the way through.” Christina  said, "You both have such a sweet tenderness. Aquile, I’m a big fan; you complemented this song so perfectly. Natalie, there’s something so good about your raw voice. But… The winner is Aquile.” Natalie gave a classy closing remark to her coach, “I’ve learned so much and it’s just been amazing.” You’re right it’s amazing! This girl is barely in high school, and she’s already been on The Voice? Really? None of the coaches seemed to think this would be the end of her career, and I absolutely have to concur.

Though NBC did not air the full performances, it quickly updated us on a couple other battles. For Team Christina, Celica Westbrook prevailed when she sang Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life would Suck Without You” against Lisa Scinta. Also, Blake’s Rudy Parris beat Charlie Rey with “Had a Bad Day.” In neither case did the judges use one of the two steals they are allowed.

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